‘You don’t have those six, seven, eight guys you know are going to be around and who want to be around who form the core of your team,’ says Lions general manager Ed Hervey. ‘This has become somewhat of a journeyman league, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for fan interest.’Francis Georgian / PNG files

Both men confirm the conversation took place. As for its substance, Hervey declined to comment and Benevides said a job on the Lions’ staff wasn’t discussed for this season.

As for next season, we invite you to use your imagination. Benevides was Hervey’s defensive co-ordinator in Edmonton for two years. He was also the Lions’ head coach for three years and a member of Wally Buono’s staff for nine years before that.

He is, in short, a dyed-in-the-wool Lion, a man who is associated with this team and who is known to its fan base.

That also sets him apart from 90 per cent of the current team, and therein lies our story.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Lions face any number of challenges as they try to restore consumer confidence in their brand. Their 1-10 record is principal among these challenges. A changing fan demographic is another.

But there’s another issue confronting the Lions. For the vast majority of their fan base, there is little familiarity or connection with the team because there is little familiarity or connection with the players, the coaches or the front office.

This is also a problem for the CFL, which we’ll get to in a moment, but if the Lions want to begin rebuilding their relationship with their fans, they should take a long, hard look at how they’re constructed.

Then-head coach Mike Benevides is playfully pushed around by long-time CFLers Rolly Lumbala (left) and David Menard at practice in 2014. The connection that fans feel to their team’s players and even coaches has taken a hit across the CFL, and particularly in Vancouver.Ric Ernst /
PNG files

“This is one of the rare times I’ll talk about my playing days,” said Hervey, who spent seven years with the Edmonton Eskimos as a receiver. “We wanted to stay in one place and we signed long-term deals to stay in that one place. It was almost a pride thing.

“We joke about it now, but I don’t think it’s a joking matter when we say those days are over. You don’t have those six, seven, eight guys you know are going to be around and who want to be around who form the core of your team. This has become somewhat of a journeyman league, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for fan interest.”

Which, unfortunately, describes the Lions’ problem perfectly.

While the Lions’ record stands out like a big, red zit in the middle of their forehead, they haven’t done themselves any favours with the composition of their team.

Lions fans know Mike Reilly, the free-agent quarterback and former league MOP who signed a ground-breaking contract this off-season. They know Bryan Burnham, the talented receiver who’s in his sixth season with the team. They might know defensive back T.J. Lee, another six-year vet who made the CFL All-Star team last season.

Beyond that, well, go ahead and name another Lion. Name another player you associate with this team or who’s become a fixture in this market. Hell, name another player, period.

The league, as a whole, went down this road this off-season, but it’s ripped a hole in the Lions that will take time to mend. Yes, long-time Leos like Solomon Elimimian and Manny Arceneaux were starting to show liver spots and Travis Lulay’s body just couldn’t take any more punishment.

But there were wholesale changes across the board that created a team that didn’t need playbooks so much as they needed letters of introduction. There are 15 new starters on the Lions this season. There were also 53 first-year Lions at this year’s training camp.

But it doesn’t stop there. First-year head coach DeVone Claybrooks was given free rein to pick his own staff. This meant familiar faces like defensive co-ordinator Mark Washington, offensive line coach Dan Dorazio and special teams coach Jeff Reinebold were let go and replaced with younger, more inexperienced coaches.

The hiring of new offensive line coach Kelly Bates signalled a change in that direction and repatriating Benevides would reinforce that change. You can also expect more turnover this off-season. But while we’re on the subject, Hervey was associated with the Eskimos as a player and administrator for 17 years and team president Rick LeLacheur was president of the Eskimos for nine years.

In the meantime, Lions stalwarts like Geroy Simon and Lulay are employed by the team but aren’t especially visible.

NEXT GAME

Friday

B.C. Lions vs. Ottawa Redblacks

7 p.m., B.C. Place Stadium, TV: TSN; Radio: TSN 1040 AM

As for the players, the vast majority of this year’s Lions signed one-year deals which means they’re likely looking at more upheaval in 2020.

But this isn’t just a problem in Vancouver. Owing to a new collective bargaining agreement and changing market forces, there were — wait for it — 322 free agents across the CFL at the conclusion of last season. These included four starting quarterbacks who changed teams in Reilly, Trevor Harris, Jonathon Jennings and Zach Collaros plus a fifth who stayed put in Bo Levi Mitchell.

It also included some of the league’s best defensive players: Elimimian, Micah Johnson, Willie Jefferson and more receivers than we could possibly list here.

Hervey, who describes himself as “old-school” CFL, isn’t a fan of this new world order, but it’s a world in which he has to conduct his business. He’d like to identify those six, seven, eight players to form the core of the Lions; players who can build something here, players to whom the fans can relate.

But it will be difficult in the current environment.

“It’s just a changing time and we have to adjust to that,” Hervey said.